Why did Lucretius admire Epicurus so strongly?

Lucretius admired Epicurus primarily because he viewed him as the great liberator of humankind. In his poem De rerum natura, Lucretius expressed deep gratitude toward his master for providing the philosophical tools necessary to overcome the pervasive, paralyzing fears of death and the gods.12

Lucretius believed that humanity suffered under the weight of religious superstition, which he saw as a monster that instilled fear through threats of eternal punishment and divine intervention. He praised Epicurus for having the courage to look beyond the boundaries of the world to understand the true nature of the universe—specifically, that the world is composed of atoms and void, and that the gods, while they exist, are remote and unconcerned with human affairs. By teaching that death is nothing to us and that the universe operates according to physical laws rather than divine caprice, Epicurus offered a path to perfect happiness, characterized by the absence of mental turmoil and emotional suffering. For Lucretius, this victory over ignorance was a profound gift that allowed humanity to be "lifted to the skies".12